Yahoo Finance Asian Markets Edge Higher on Quick Trade Deal Hopes
Investing.com - Asian stocks continued their run upwards up Monday morning, boosted by hopes of a trade deal between China and the U.S.
Chinese shares, in particular, stuck with what has become an impressive bull run this year. The Shanghai Composite Index was up 1.4% by 9:17 PM ET (2:17 AM GMT) 3,035 while the Shenzhen Component climbed 2.56% to 9,403.
The Shanghai Composite is up around 18% from the beginning of 2019 while the Shenzhen Component has notched gains of 24%, putting it solidly in bull run territory.
By contrast, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was flat Monday morning, shifting between mild gains and mild losses in early trading and down 0.01%. Still, Hong Kong’s main index is up around 13% so far this year.
Most main stock markets around the region also posted gains.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.79% to 21,777 while the KOSPI in South Korea gained 0.35% to 2,203 by mid-morning.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.51% to 6,224.
The upbeat mood was driven by news that the U.S. is poised to lift most or even all tariffs on Chinese imports and that U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could sign a deal as early as this month, the Wall Street Journal reported.
On Friday, Trump asked China to eliminate all tariffs on agricultural products. He pointed to the steady progress in trade talks in making the request.
The recovery in Chinese shares so far this year is not happening on a bubble. Asian stocks have generally done well. MSCI’s index for Asian shares ex-Japan has risen about 10% this year.
Investors have seemed to shrug off signs of a slowdown in China in February.
“While it will take time for economic data to stabilize from the current slowdown, policy shifts by central banks and governments, especially in the U.S. and China, should help support investor confidence for now,” said Tai Hui, Asia Pacific Chief Market Strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management in comments quoted by Reuters.
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